Support
by gypsywriter135
Summary: Even the strongest people need support every once in a while.


Hola, amigos! Haha. Well, I promised that I would make more for my oneshots :) And here it is! I had a little trouble writing this one, but I just couldn't seem to stop. I wrote it and finished it, didn't like the way it came out, and re-wrote it. Plus, I knew that writing for Mikey would be hard. First off, I'm not funny, and I know it, lol. So I didn't even try to put any humor in it. If there is some, I happy to make you laugh :) but know that it kinda snuck in there.

And thank you all for your wonderful reviews on my other stories! I'm glad you like them :)

Anyways, here it is! Enjoy! And look for my multi-chapter story coming out in a few days! I've been working on that one for months :) Enough of me blabbering. On with the story!

Disclaimer: The TMNT are not mine. I just like to torture Leo.

P.S. Rated "T" 'cause of a bad word...

TMNTTMNT

Mikey was jolted from his sleep… again.

He sat bolt upright, throwing the covers on his bed around his room and his bandana tails whipped him in the face. He looked around, searching for the source of the noise, but he didn't hear anything.

No, wait! There it was!

Mikey scrunched his eyes together, concentrating on the small sound he had heard a few seconds ago. You had to be listening hard in order to hear it, or else you would miss it. And the only reason Mikey was the only one who was hearing it was because his room was right next to his eldest brother's.

Mikey sighed as he realized what was happening again.

Leonardo was having another nightmare.

Shaking his head, Mikey swung his legs over his bed and shivered slightly as his warm feet hit to cool ground. Taking a second to think, he grabbed his signature orange blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders. Then, he carefully-even _he_ didn't know what was on the floor to his room sometimes- made his way over to his door and silently slipped out into the hallway.

Taking a moment to let his eyes adjust to the light, he carefully listened to the house… sewer… that surrounded him, and scanned the upper hallway with his blue eyes. Raph's room, the farthest away from the steps, seemed quiet, the only sound his soft snores and grunts. Don's room, though the door was slightly ajar, was silent as well… well, as silent as it was going to get. The genius turtle had a whole bunch of gizmos and gadgets that's made odd sounds throughout the night.

Which is why Mikey assumed that he was the only one who heard what their eldest brother was going through. That, and the fact that, despite what his brothers thought, he was an extremely light sleeper…

Mikey walked a few feet and put his ear… or, where a turtle would have ears… against Leonardo's door. Inside, he heard his older brother muttering and could hear him tossing around on his bed, er… cot… It was after a few minutes that he heard what had awoken him in the first place; Leo screamed.

It wasn't a loud scream, but it was a scream all the same. It was more whispered, which might have also contributed to why the other turtles, and Master Splinter, hadn't heard anything.

Sighing, Mikey slowly and silently opened his brother's door. Peaking his head around it and looking into his brother's room, his eyes confirmed what he had originally thought. Leo was lying on his shell, one arm over his eyes and the other, it seemed, looked as if he was trying to shake off an invisible enemy. His blue sheet, the only one that was on the bed, had been kicked off and now sat at the foot of the cot.

Shaking his head, Mikey finally entered the room. He made his way over to Leonardo, reaching out his hands to shake him awake as he got closer. Right before he actually touched his older brother though, Leo's eyes snapped open and he abruptly sat up, eyes wide, and looked at Mikey. Mikey froze.

The two turtles stayed like that for a few seconds, each looking at one another. Leo's eyes were wide, and a little fearful, and Mikey's eyes were hard and worried.

"What are you doing in here, Mikey?" Leo asked after a few moments of silence. His eyes narrowed behind his mask and he regarded his little brother with a mixture of anger and worriness.

Mikey's hands dropped, then went to his neck as he tightened the blanket around him. "I… I was… you…" He struggled with forming a comprehendible sentence together. Leo never liked anyone in his room. Sure, Mikey had come in here a few times after a nightmare, but he was more likely to go to Don when he was awoken from his sleep. Don would smile sympathetically and offer Mikey a space on his bed for the rest of the night. With his brother next to him, Mikey would sleep until the morning.

Leo was looking at him expectantly. Mikey chuckled nervously. "Um… I heard a noise and wanted to make sure you were okay?"

Leo continued to stare at Mikey, who began to shift nervously under his brother's intense gaze. He had always hated the way that Leo was able to tell when they weren't saying the entire truth.

"IknowaboutyournightmaresandIjustwantedtomakesurethatyouwereokay'causeIknowthatyouhavebeenhavingthemforafewweeksnow," Mikey said in a rush.

Leo's eyes widened a bit, then narrowed until they were only slits. "What are you talking about?" he asked dangerously.

Mikey knew he should stop. His brain was telling him to stop right now, drop it, and go back to bed. Forget it. Leo was never one to get very emotional. He was even more closed off than Raph. But something was telling him to keep going; that this was important. His heart and his brain continued to wrestle for control.

_Just drop it! Leo's old enough to deal with his problems on his own! It's none of our business!_

_He could really need our help! Did you see him earlier?! Something is defiantly up!_

_Just stay out of it! If he wants to talk about it, he'll do it when he's good and ready!_

…

"I know about your nightmares!" Mikey spit out, then ducking his head.

_I should really listen to me more often…_

He glanced a peak at his older brother, only to find that Leo was looking at the ground, his hands clenching into fists as his arm shook slightly. He stared at Leo for a few minutes, neither saying anything.

"Leo?" Mikey asked, after a few minutes. "You okay?"

"How long?" Leo whispered, still refusing to meet his brother's eyes.

"What?"

"How long have known?"

"… A few weeks…" Mikey said hesitantly. He was beginning to get worried.

"Unko," Leo muttered.

Mikey's eyes went wide. Leo never swore, and on the extremely rare occasions that he did, it was never in Japanese. Something had to be very wrong for Leo to swear in Japanese.

"Leo, everyone has nightmare," Mikey replied. "Donnie's had them, even Raph has had them, though he'll never admit it. I've had them, as you very well know. Sometimes it helps to talk about it…"

Leo shook his head angrily, finally looking at the younger turtle, a fire in his eyes. "I'm the leader, Mike. I can't have nightmares. It makes me weak."

Mikey felt a pang of hurt. Did Leo think he was weak because he had nightmares all the time? Is that what he thought of them all? That they were weak?

Leo seemed to realize what he had said and the anger in his eyes diminished, only to be replaced by guilt and sadness.

"Mike, I… I didn't mean it that way…" he said softly. He moved over so that there was more room on his bed and patted the spot next to him. "Here, come here."

Mikey slowly made his way over and sat down next to him, unshed tears in his eyes.

"Do you think I'm… weak?" he whispered, afraid at what Leo would say.

Leo sighed tiredly and looked Mikey in the eyes. "No," he said forcefully. "I don't think that you're weak. I don't think that Don's weak, and I don't think that Raph's weak. I didn't mean it that way. It just came out wrong. You three are some of the strongest beings I know."

"Then what did you mean?" Mikey sniffed, rubbing his eyes to get the water out of them.

Leo had a sharp intake of breath, which caused Mikey to look up at him. His brother had gotten very tense, and he was avoiding Mikey's eyes again.

"Just… forget it, Mikey," Leo said. "You had better be getting back to bed. Early practice in the morning."

Mikey shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

Leo glanced at Mikey before sighing. Mikey mentally cheered, but he kept his face neutral.

_Yes! He knows how stubborn I can be! Round one: Michelangelo!_

"Fine," Leo muttered. "I have been having nightmares. There, happy now?"

But Mikey was not to be deterred. "What are they about?" he asked stubbornly.

Leo grit his teeth. "Mikey, I don't really want to talk about it…"

"Bro, sometimes, the best thing to do is to talk about it. That's what you always tell me when I have nightmares."

Leo shook his head. "Mikey, some things are just better left unsaid."

"It can't be that bad," Mikey pushed.

_You're pushing down a road that is better left alone…_

Mikey ignored himself.

"Mikey-"

"I'm not leaving until you tell me, Leo," Mikey said, crossing his arms under his blanket to show just how determined he was.

"No," Leo said, mirroring his younger brother's action. If he wanted to be that stubborn, then two could play at that game.

The two turtles sat there for a while, each glaring at the other. But soon, Mikey began to get bored. He could never sit this still, and Leo knew it.

"Come on, Leo," Mikey pleaded. "Just tell me!"

Leo didn't say anything, and he didn't move.

"Was it about the Shredder?" Mikey asked, deciding to guess at what it was that caused his brother discomfort.

Leo remained unmoved.

"Was it about… us?"

Leo sucked in a sharp breath.

_Bingo!_

"Did we… die?"

Leo's body tensed visibly. Mikey was a little unnerved. Sure, in his dreams, and even in his brother's dreams, they had all gotten hurt, but none of them had ever dreamed that they had died…

_I guess that Leo would dream about those things though. He has more to worry about, especially when it comes to us. In a battle, he has to make sure that not only he's okay, but that the rest of us are okay from beginning to end…_

"Leo, if you dreamed something like that, then you need to talk about it," Mikey said worriedly. "It's not healthy not too."

"I… can't…"

Mikey wasn't sure what shocked him more. They way Leo looked suddenly looked, all defeated, or the way that he had said it. His tone had sounded… frightened. Leo was averting his eyes again.

"Leo," Mikey said, putting his arm around his older brother. "It's okay to talk. If you want, I won't tell the guys."

Leo took a moment to think. "Yeah… okay…"

Mikey internally cheered, but remained silent on the outside. Leo would go at his own pace.

"I was standing at the top of a building," Leo said quietly. "And I had my swords out. You guys were ahead of me, 'cause we were just doing a regular training run. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. I tried to yell to warn you three, but my mouth wouldn't work. Then the Foot Elite attacked, and you guys weren't prepared, and were caught off guard. I tried to catch up, to help, but the faster I ran, the longer the rooftop got. I was only able to watch at the Elite attacked, and you each fell to ground. Finally, when I was somehow able to get over there, the Elite were gone and… and I couldn't save you… I failed…"

Mikey was silent. He didn't know that Leo could even think these thoughts. He hadn't failed. He was just unable to control things that were indeed out of his control.

"But I should have been able to get there fast enough," Leo said.

Mikey didn't realize he had spoken out loud.

"Leo, you're not Superman," Mikey sighed. "You can't do everything. And things happen. You just can't let it get to you. It'll destroy you to have this much baggage."

Leo was silent. Mikey sighed and pulled him into a hug, wrapping the blanket around the both of them.

"You're a great leader, and a wonderful brother. I know that you would never let anything happen to us that you could prevent, and Don and Raph know that too. You can't protect us forever; it comes with the territory. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you, bro."

There was silence before Leo spoke. "I love you, too," he said quietly. Mikey heard him sniff, and knew that Leo was crying silently. But that was okay. Mikey was there to offer support.

And from that night on, Leo slept soundly. If he was to have a nightmare, Mikey was sure to have a visitor during the night, and sometimes, even into the morning. But that was okay. Leo knew he had someone to lean on, and Mikey shivered at what might have happened if he hadn't entered Leo's room that night.

But he had, and that's all that mattered. For as much Leo was there for him, he was there for Leo.

It's what brothers did.

TMNTTMNT

Did you like it?! Let me know! Flames, please, but be gentle...


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